J6er Convicted of Burglary Only Months After Trump Pardoned

On Thursday in the Henrico County Courthouse, Zachary Alam was found guilty of grand laracy and burglary.

Alam was one of about 1600 people pardoned on President Donald Trump's first day on his second term. Alam was convicted for his role on January 6 including assaulting law enforcement officers.

Alam was nicknamed "Helmet Boy" for shattering the glass window panel of the door into the floor of Congress. First Alam punched the glass windows and then he used a helmet to shatter the glass. Shortly afterwards Ashli Babbitt attempted to crawl through that broken window and then Babbitt was fatally shot by law enforcement.

Alam had no friends or family members show up to support him while on trial, nor did he call any witnesses. As a defendant, Alam decided to represent himself while his court appointed lawyer, Dannie Sutton, acted as a legal advisor.

Alam had admitted to the jury that he entered the Smith family's home, putting a stolen box in his backpack that was later found on him, even changing his clothes and discarding the old clothes.

Alam's opening statement told the story that he moved to Richmond after being lost in Washington DC and settling in a home in Richmond. Then Alam was abruptly evicted and that is when Alam said he began looking for an Airbnb but did not have any phone service.

Instead of going into a place that was expecting him, Alam went into the home of the Smith family. The first person to discover Alam was the family's son who just finished work as a barber and had gotten out of the shower. Smith discovered personal items spread across the bed in the guest room with Alam in the room. Smith said he asked why Alam was in the house and Alam told Smith that he was with Xfinity to fix the Wi-Fi.

The Smith family testified that they were not Xfinity customers, but Verizon customers. When Smith and the rest the family discovered that Alam was not with Xfinity, they persuaded him to leave. Later that night, the Smith family discovered that valuables were missing like an electronic tablet and a diamond necklace along with a broken window. A neighbor told the Smith family that he spotted Alam take valuables from outside that broken window.

Later that night, Henrico Police officers located Alam, less than 2 miles from the Smith's home. Alam didn't mention any Airbnb but that he was lost trying to take a train to Washington DC.

Henrico Police Officer Christopher Minter testified that Alam changed clothes in the few hours since leaving the Smith's home. Alam was caught on a Ring camera wearing a black shirt and pants but was shown on police body camera footage wearing white shorts and shorts.

Alam changed his clothes while inside the Capital on January 6 after Ashli Babbitt was shot. This tactic is known as "debloc'ing" where a person changes their clothes to blend in with their surroundings. This has made Alam the center of a conspiracy that he was Antifa during January 6 from J6er and Hitler impersonator Timothy Hale-Cusanelli.

Even though Alam was the center of Antifa paranoia, his name was used to fundraise thousands of dollars. Former and disbarred lawyer for the OathKeepers, Jonathon Moseley and the Patriots Legal Defense Fund raised over $12,000 for Alam. However, in June, Moseley agreed to a $1.9 million settlement for deceptive marketing along with James Hull and their company Evoke Wellness. It is not known if Alam ever got any of the money fundraised on his behalf.

Alam did not do himself any favors by representing himself in court. During jury selection. Alam told the potential jurors that he did not understand that defendants can be convicted based on circumstantial evidence. Alam used his opportunity to cross examine witnesses suggest to the Smith family that they were not being honest about their home being burglarized by him. Questioning the father of the Smith family if he was certain he closed the door every time he went outside earlier that day.

At one point, Alam asked Officer Minter if the objects found on him include the Smith's missing tablet or diamond necklace, Officer Minter began listing all objects found on Alam. Alam blurted out "Objection. Stop talking."

Although the diamond necklace and electronic tablet were never recovered, the jury found enough circumstantial evidence to convict Alam after less than 2 hours of deliberation. Alam now faces 2 to 20 years in prison having been convicted of two class 5 felonies.